Logwood Mountain Bike Park

Logwood remains a riding destination although it is no longer a formal bike park. Coincidently it closed at the same time that the Toyota MTN Cycle Park opened.

My last visit to Logwood was for the Logwood classic and I remembered that they had some pretty steep drop-offs in the trees at the back somewhere. So I was keen to go and checkout Logwood Bike Park. Everyone who had been there had only good things to say and by all accounts the venture seems to be a hit.

I went with my brother Brian, an occasional mountain biker with above average skills thanks to some pretty reckless early BMX days. The whole place is very cleverly put together and laid out. You can’t get lost and it is really easy to find the entrance because you just follow the flow. Signing in as first time riders was lengthy but necessary as the rules and indemnities were well covered. The R50 entrance fee for day visitors was a bit steep, although they do have a variety of riding options for regular visitors so you will end up paying effectively R10-20 a visit if you ride weekly.

What impressed me most about the park was the systematic grading of the trails. This makes it really easy for beginners especially, to progress. The obstacles increase in number and complexity as the grading goes from beginner green to blue to black for expert. In a controlled and comfortable environment you would easily be able to teach yourself and others to ride more complex obstacles. 

We did a few green routes and enjoyed the single track and tight turns that made you concentrate on cornering technique. Then onto the blue trails and you had to pay a bit more attention, especially for the first time as you suddenly had to deal with a drop or a log or a steep bump to avoid being bounced off. Then it was onto some of the back expert routes, this is where the fun really starts.

Unless you are a northshore freeride type the Darkside will appeal merely as a mountain biking sculpture to you. If you can’t fathom how to ride it then don’t worry about it, just ride-on. The northshore was closed due to water, or at least that’s our excuse, we passed over some of it but other bits did seem a bit sculpture like. Our favourite was Sugar Bowl, it had a nice bit of flow to it with some real technical tricky sections, we rode it a couple of times. All the other routes were cool too, and with many variations it would take you quite a few vists to memorise and get the hang of all the different options.

The ladder bridges and berms were a first for me, not having ridden any of this sort of length of obstacle before. They were really exhilarating and resulted in a serious rush of adrenalin after nearly losing it into the murky bog below. It was a great feeling to stick an obstacle and realise that you had just done something new – a great feeling.

We eventually left the park after we could ride no more, a few loops up heartbreak hill, bikes and bodies covered in mud and some wrong turns and close calls, we had had a good session.

Logwood Bike Park - Cult Cycling